Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Arlington to get Superbowl Bid for 2011

Super Bowl XLV will be played in Arlington in 2011, the National Football League announced Tuesday. The NFL owns, produces, and controls the country's largest annual sporting event, and their vote on Tuesday is a win for the North Texas Region, said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck.
Cluck leads the city in thanking the North Texas Super Bowl Bidding Committee for their hard work."This is an extremely exciting time for North Texas after six months of hard work," the Mayor said Tuesday. "This was a highly competitive bidding process. Winning Super Bowl XLV brings enormous economic impact and worldwide prestige to the North Texas Region."
The City of Arlington is proud to be the new home of the Dallas Cowboys, which will host Super Bowl game day festivities in 2011. The stadium will have a capacity of 100,000 fans when it opens in 2009.
Throughout the region, cities such as Dallas, Fort Worth, Grapevine and Irving will host a variety of other Super Bowl related events and activities, as determined by the NFL.
"With the arrival of the Super Bowl in 2011, everyone benefits," the Mayor said.
Earlier this month, Senate Bill 1424 cleared the last legislative hurdle. The bill eliminates a population bracket in the law that would have prevented Arlington from accessing the Other Events Trust Fund. The fund was created to provide cities and counties with money to attract special events such as the Super Bowl, Pan American Games, the Olympics, All-Star Games and other types of large special events. Senate Bill 1424 was authored by Kim Brimer (R-Fort Worth) and Chris Harris (R-Arlington).

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Giant Signs are proposed for GloryPark development

ARLINGTON -- Giant signs atop the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and colossal images projected on the sides of multistory parking garages and buildings could be included in the Glorypark development.
The City Council was briefed Tuesday on proposed signs for the $600 million town center adjacent to the ballpark.
Four signs suggested for the western edge of the project could cover 75 percent of the building facades. Two could be 48 feet by 64 feet, or 3,072 square feet. The average billboard in Arlington is about 600 square feet, according to Jim Parajon, director of Community Development and Planning.
Council members did not seem concerned by the sizes of the signs or that they would display advertising.
"Creativity should not be limited," Councilman Robert Rivera said. "This is a signature not only for Arlington but for the region."
What the developer wants: A variety of signs, including:
Three large static or video signs (ranging from 30 feet by 80 feet to 30 feet by 100 feet) fixed to the roof of the ballpark on the south side, facing Randol Mill Road.
Projected-image signs with no size limit.
15 kiosks that may be up to 600 square feet.
City concerns: Planners said they were apprehensive about some sign requests, including:
Off-premises advertising proposed for 20 of 24 signs in Rangers Alley, on the south side of the ballpark.
15 roof signs that could be up to 200 feet by 8 feet.
No limit to sign advertising along private streets within Glorypark.
What's next: The council will review the sign proposal and vote on the second reading of Glorypark's zoning application. If the zoning is approved, the council will consider the site plan for the project.
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3 Signs the developer wants affixed to the south side of the ballpark
3,000 square feet: Area of the largest of those proposed signs
600 square feet: Area of an average billboard in Arlington.